Isabella nodded. “We must go and fast. Run up to your room now and put your riding things on. I will see you at the stables.” She turned to glare at Felicity. “You will have to tell the truth, though. You know that? You will have to admit what you have done and what you know. All of it. It is of the utmost importance now.”
“I will do anything I can to make things right,” Felicity said.
Isabella’s heart was thumping in her chest as she ran up to her room to change her clothes. There was so much new information to take on board, but so much could wait until another time. The most important thing now was to get to the duelling site and make Felicity admit that she had entrapped Sebastian. Then, surely, the duel would be called off, and Sebastian would be safe once everyone knew that he had not dishonoured her.
Not long after, Felicity and Isabella were on horseback, thundering towards the duelling site. Felicity had found a note in her father’s room detailing the exact location, and Isabella knew at once where it was.
“The long field on the edge of the estate!” she exclaimed when she saw the note. “It is some distance away, Felicity. You are sure you can manage the ride?”
Felicity nodded. “I promise you, Isabella, I will do my best to make this right.”
As they rode along, now, as fast as Isabella thought they could go without risking an accident, thoughts flew around her mind and she could hardly think straight.
If Felicity had thrown herself at Sebastian, then it meant that he had not betrayed her! It meant, perhaps, that he really did love her and that everything that had happened between them had meant something after all. Felicity certainly seemed to believe that he loved her.
Maybe there was a chance, then, that if they reached the duelling site in time to stop the fight, Isabella and Sebastian might be together, in the end, despite the scandal and gossip their actions had generated. She wondered for a brief moment whether her father would even allow it, but then she resolved that she would not even ask permission.
She would run away with Sebastian if she had to. She knew, now, that the love between them was unique. There was no way she would ever be happy with anyone else. It had to be Sebastian, and she would go to the ends of the earth to ensure they could be together.
But this great mystery surrounding his father hung over her like a dark cloud, and she was sure it hung over him, too. He must have been preoccupied by it for many years.
The scandal of his father’s downfall and subsequent death she knew all about, but no one ever seemed to have questioned the truth of the story. Everyone simply assumed that Julian Ashcroft was the one who had betrayed them all and that his imprisonment was justified. His death, though tragic, was perhaps a natural consequence of his immoral actions.
But if he had not been guilty of these crimes, then a terrible injustice had been done, and the truth had to come out. If Lord Harrow was guilty, then he should pay the price for his crimes.
Isabella could not tell how the whole situation would turn out, but she hoped against hope that they were not too late.
Chapter 29
The atmosphere was thick with tension as Sebastian and Victor glared at each other.
Victor looked away first. “I do not know what you are intimating, Ashcroft!” he said, staring down at his boots and the muddy field.
Sebastian saw that Victor had lost some of his swagger. He felt spurred on by the fact that Victor’s confidence was clearly waning.
“Surely you will not dare to fight me now,” Sebastian said a little goadingly. “I have revealed your secret. You must pay the price!”
Victor looked up at him again, his face puce with rage. “You know nothing about it! You cannot possibly understand what happened all those years ago!”
“Try me!” Sebastian retorted hotly. “I understand betrayal and treachery when I see it! And I recognize a traitor when I see one!” He lurched forward towards Victor, the rage falling over his eyes like a red mist. He would have his revenge at last, and nothing could stop him.
Behind him, Adrian grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “This is not the way, my friend,” he said firmly.
Sebastian acquiesced for a moment, his mind racing as he tried to think of what his next move should be. He was so close now to revealing the truth. But things were still so delicate, so dangerous. He waited, just a moment, to catch his breath.
The silence of the field was broken by the pounding of horses’ hooves. He looked up to see two horses, with figures riding on their backs, speeding towards them. The mist had cleared a little, but it was not until they were closer that he could make out who the riders were.
His heart leapt in his chest when he recognized Isabella astride the first horse. And he was beyond astonished when the rider behind was revealed to be Felicity. He could not imagine what they were doing here. How had they even found out about the duel? It was meant to be a great secret that hardly anyone in the household knew about.
Thomas stepped forward. “Ladies, I must beg you to return home. This is no place for you; it is not safe!”
Isabella jumped off her horse. “It is critically important that we are here, My Lord,” she said firmly. “Please, do not argue with me.”
She held up her hand to stop Lord Thomas from arguing with her, and Sebastian had to hide a smile. Even in the midst of all this chaos, Isabella was still the most astonishing young lady he had ever set eyes on. Not only was her beauty heightened now by the colour in her cheeks from riding so hard across the field, but her imperious presence was more impressive than he could ever have imagined. He wanted to run to her, there and then, and tell her that he loved her, but he held back. There was something afoot here, he sensed.
Why had she come here putting herself and Felicity in danger? He could only imagine that she had something of great import to say. He admired her bravery as she stood there, looking around at the group of men gathered in the field. She was truly fearless, he thought. A marvel of a woman.
“Felicity, what are you doing here?” Victor yelled, glaring at his daughter. His face was a picture of panic now. “I told you to stay in the house until this was all over. No good can come of you being here!”
